Education

Our task is to support and develop health professionals that they may serve their people well, regardless of where they practice. The University Centre for Rural Health, and the health community and wider community, fosters the development of the student to do so. Jointly, we aim to provide a rural experience that demonstrates excellence in clinical practice, which encourages reflection on the way one learns and the way one practices, and that cultures the seed of personal growth and professionalism.

The UCRH not only reaches to students (of allied health, nursing and medicine disciplines), it supports clinical supervisors and preceptors in mentorship, role modelling, and education capacity, and more broadly, hosts health professionals and community groups from many walks, in assisting them in their own professional development.

The education agenda of the UCRH is one that provides that our local community and more widely, are well served with quality health professionals, in student days and throughout their working careers.

Students underpin the primary program of the UCRH. Students placed in both year-long and short term settings are exposed to programs immersed in supervised clinical settings, as well as a more formal teaching program, encompassing skills development, simulation exercises, tutorial, clinical case discussion and inter-professional learning. Students interact at both personal and professional level with clinicians and teachers, gaining insight into the commitment and life of the rural practitioner.

UCRH has embedded a strong ethos in ensuring that students have a genuine understanding of social inequity, the implications of culture and demography, and the role of the health professional as a leader in the rural community. This encompasses a commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, and encouragement to engage with the community, particularly those in rural settings.

The faculty and support staff of the education program are steeped in diverse experience and hold strong commitment that the present and future health workforce will serve their respective communities in a manner that holds personal and professional integrity. We believe in the transformative capacity of immersive education.

“My time here has been transformative. I never quite imagined that I would gain a sense of the patient so unique, nor that my world could be so enlarged by stepping outside of metropolitan setting. I am deepened as a person and as a professional”

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About UCRH

UCRH provides a multidisciplinary centre of excellence in education of students for clinical practice in rural health and conducts research relevant to the health needs of rural communities situated within the Northern Rivers region of NSW and elsewhere.